Level Up
A Yearend Message
Romans 13:11 – 14
Introduction:
I am sure many of the younger generation here understands the meaning of the phrase “level up”. It is a phrase that is often used in video games when a player is allowed to go to the next level because he has met certain requirements in the previous level that he played in. The phrase is also used to describe real-life experiences where one moves up to a higher job or one gains prestige and achievements that sets them on a figurative pedestal, as someone others will look up to. Though many here may not exactly like to use this phrase, nevertheless, you have personally experienced moving on to a higher level, whether its getting that job promotion or that raise in your salary. In reality, many among us want to move on to a higher level of achievement or status because it may mean more perks, benefits as well as sense of fulfillment. Not many would prefer the status quo unless you are the type who shuns or avoids bigger responsibilities and more difficult tasks.
As we are about to end 2010 in a few more days, you will probably become a bit more reflective about all the things that has happened to you as well as how well you've fared against your own expectations and goals. We want to be able to say that we have really leveled up when it comes to our personal achievements, our business goals, our grades, just to name a few. What I wonder though is whether we are leveling up when it comes to our walk with the Lord.
So often, the last thing in our life that levels up is actually our walk with the Lord. We spend so much energy making our businesses more profitable, our school grades much higher, and our career paths more colorful, that we forget that which is important – how is my relationship with the one whom I call and acknowledge as my Lord and my God?
This morning, I would like to challenge us all to level up in the area of our walk with God, because if we think about it, what is really going to matter most in this life and the next? There will come a time when you will no longer be in school, you can no longer engage in business and you'll have to retire because of your age; but your relationship with the Lord goes on forever. From the day you trusted the Lord Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, you began a relationship that goes beyond this life. However, this relationship, like all other relationships, need to be cherished. The relationship needs to be growing.
So, how exactly do we level up in our relationship or walk with God? We will examine a familiar passage found in Romans 13:11 – 14. Here, the apostle Paul gives us three things we need to do if we want to level up in our walk with God. Let's spend the rest of our time checking out these three points, and my prayer is that the Lord will help us, not only to know about these three points, but to able to apply these four points in our lives, in order that we will grow and mature in our faith, that we will move from our current level to the next, higher level. To help us remember all the three points, they are all phrases that end with the word “up”.
Context of the Passage:
Now, before we examine the main points of today's message, let me just briefly talk with you about the context of the passage. In the preceding passage (vv. 8 - 10), the apostle Paul wrote about love. Here, he exhorted the believers to love one another and their neighbors. At the start of verse 11, Paul wrote “and do this, understanding the present time.” Here, Paul was referring to love. In effect, he was telling the believers, that in light of Christ's second coming, they were to show love to one another even more than before. But he also makes a transition from love to the issue of spiritual maturity and growth, again in light of the second coming of Jesus. What this should mean for us is that, because Jesus is coming again soon, we must be careful with the way we live our lives, by striving to mature spiritually and by loving one another.
We are going to deal primarily with the aspect of spiritual maturity and growth. So, let's look at the three points that we can derive from this passage.
I. WAKE UP!
The first “up” that Paul mentioned was for the Roman Christians to “wake up” from their slumber. What exactly were they to wake up from? We do not see an explicit answer but I strongly believe that Paul was referring to the problem of apathy among believers.
Apathy, as described by the dictionary, is the lack of interest, concern or enthusiasm. It is a problem that seems to plague the individual believers as well as entire churches during the time of the New Testament. If you look at the book of Revelation, you find that a couple of churches mentioned by Jesus were guilty of apathy. Consider the Laodicean church which was neither hot nor cold, meaning they were not enthusiastic in loving and serving the Lord. The church in Sardis was described by Jesus as being a dead church. Such descriptions point to the fact that apathy is not something new but it has plagued churches in the past.
But what are the signs that a believer is apathetic? The first sign I see is the believers' unwillingness to be involved in ministry and in witness. Every member of the body of Christ plays a vital part in making the body function fully. Unfortunately, many do not want to function. They just want to come to church, sit back and relax and do nothing. They possess spiritual gifts but they have no intention of using it to serve the Lord and the church. I must admit, I admire many of our elderly sisters who can no longer come to church to worship. Do you know why? It is because many of them spend the time to pray for the church and for the pastors. Although they cannot be present physically, at least they are still doing ministry by praying. At least these sisters aren't apathetic; at least they care for the church. But what about us? We who are strong and young enough to still climb the stairs? Do we truly care for the Lord's church by being an active part of it?
A second sign of apathy in a believer is his failure to maintain a relationship with the Lord through prayer and the Word. They always say they don't have time for it. They're always in a hurry. Yet, when they go on a vacation and have all the time in the world, they're still not spending time with the Lord. It is because they don't think its important. The only thing that is important for them is that they're going to heaven and that God blesses them. The relationship isn't important for them, only the blessing is.
Another sign of apathy is the “I don't care” attitude when he sees others sinning. He does not feel any sadness or grief when he sees people sinning against the Lord. It is probably because his sense of morality has already been affected by the world and he thinks that there's nothing wrong in what another person may be doing. He may also be apathetic because he has the wrong notion that what people do is always their own business, even when they are already committing something wrong against the Lord and against other people.
These are the signs of apathy and they have no place in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ. This is why Paul called on the believers in Rome as well as for all the readers of this epistle to wake up! Don't fall asleep when it comes to your walk with God. Make sure you are progressing forward; make sure you are continually building your intimacy with God by praying and reading his Word. Never become callous when you see yourself or others sinning and condone it, but instead, be moved and grieved just as God is grieved when we sin against him.
II. CLEAN UP!
The second “up” we find in the passage can be characterized by the phrase, “clean up”. We probably heard that phrase quite a few times, when we're being told to clean up our mess or to clean up our rooms. I used this phrase to emphasize the point that, if we really want to level up in our walk with God, we better clean up our act, namely we must deal with sin decisively in our lives.
In verse 12, we read that we are to set aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. The deeds of darkness is another way of saying “sin”. The passage also compared the deeds of darkness to the night time. Why? It is because people generally but not exclusively commit wrongdoings in the cover of the night. We normally do not want people to find out about the wrong things we are doing. Also, the use of darkness as an analogy for sin is because of the contrast between darkness and light. Light is generally used to describe Jesus Christ and his followers. It is also used to describe the Word of God. Therefore, darkness, being the opposite of light, describes Satan and sin.
Now, what were the sins mentioned by Paul here? We have sins of intemperance or the sin of excessive consumption of alcohol, sins of sexual misconduct, and then the sins of contention and quarreling. This list is not meant to be exhaustive or complete, but it is a fair sampling of what the deeds of darkness are.
When we became Christians, there is the promise that our sins have and will be forgiven; however, there is no promise that we become sinless. As long as we are in the world, we have to deal with sin and temptation. The good news is that we can be victorious over sin through the power and leading of the Holy Spirit. What it will require though is for us to make the resolution that we will no longer allow sin to dominate us.
We can start cleaning up by confessing our sins to God and claiming the forgiveness made available by the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we must make up our minds, proclaiming that we will no longer allow ourselves to become slaves to sin but we will now allow God to renew us. Again, it all boils down to spending time praying and reading the Word of God. By spending time with God, we are weaning ourselves away from the grip and power of sin and allowing our thoughts to be renewed and our subsequent actions to be judged by the Word.
We can also start cleaning up by removing those things that cause us to fall into sin. There is usually a vehicle that brings temptation to our doorstep. Is it the internet? Do you visit websites that you're not supposed to be looking at? Maybe its time you install an internet filter and ask a friend to do the password, so that when you are tempted to visit those sites, at least you will be blocked. Is it the TV programs or movies that you watch? Are they affecting how you think or are they taking up too much of your time? It's time you put a limit on how much TV or movie you watch. Better yet, get rid of the TV from your room. Is there a place that you frequent that is a source of temptation, like a bar where you end up getting drunk or some venue where your eyes keep on wandering, looking at scantily dressed women or men with huge muscles? It's time you go to somewhere else where there is clean fun. Why not take up a productive hobby or sport? Cleaning up means giving up the things that will become vehicles of temptation. Are you willing to give these up and become clean? Cleaning up also means focusing your mind on the right things, as commanded by Paul in Philippians 4:8.
Do you want to level up in your walk with God? Then it's time that you clean up. Don't allow sin to take a foothold in your life. Instead, confess your sins to God, start doing the things that will renew your mind (reading the Word, praying), and remove the things that will cause you to fall very easily into sin and replace them with things that will make you more productive and fruitful. Start focusing your mind on the right things.
III. Spruce Up
The last “up” we can find in the passage is characterized by the phrase, “spruce up”. Now, this term is often used when we refer to putting decorations on the Christmas tree. A Christmas tree without the Christmas balls and lights looks drab and boring. However, a tree that has trimmings, the star on top and the lights is surely a beautiful sight to behold.
I believe the same is true for us in terms of our outward appearance. We generally want to look good. That is why, aside from nice clothes, we accessorize. Women put on make-up. We spruce up ourselves in order to look more attractive.
In Romans 13:14, we are told to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. According to a Bible scholar, clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus actually meant the deliberate and conscious acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a decision that is done not just once, when we were converted, but is a lifelong process. Submission to Jesus Christ is an ongoing decision that we all need to make every day.
Now, what is the relation between everyday submission to Jesus Christ and to our becoming attractive? Well, our submission to Jesus Christ in every area of our lives can become something attractive because will see us being consistent in both our walk and our talk. They will not find contradictions between what we say and what we do. Also, a surrendered life can become attractive because people will see more of the Lord Jesus Christ through us. In 2 Corinthians 2:14 – 15, Christians are described as being fragrant aroma who exudes the fragrance of Jesus Christ. However, the fragrance comes when we are in total submission and obedience to Jesus Christ. If we are not submissive to the rule of Jesus Christ, then it will show in our behavior and in our speech. People will take notice and will be turned off by the Christianity that we profess to believe in.
It takes total commitment and obedience on our part to become a fragrant aroma that will bring glory and pleasure to God; but when we willingly do these things, we are sprucing our lives to become so attractive that people will be drawn to Jesus Christ, through our witness and our deeds.
Conclusion:
Level up! That is the challenge for all of us as we face 2011. Let us not grow contented with where we are now spiritually, but let us exert every effort to grow in our relationship with God. Let us wake up from our apathy and begin to care about our relationship with God. Let us clean up our act through repentance and a firm resolution to live a holy life. Finally, let us spruce up our lives by putting on the Lord Jesus Christ – submitting to his lordship every day and every moment.
In closing, I would like for us to silently pray for a minute or two. Why not make a commitment right now to the Lord, that you want to grow in your relationship with Him? Why not surrender to His lordship right now and give Him full control of your life? Why not ask for the Lord's cleansing and forgiveness and for Him to give you a fresh start?
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